Senate Democrats are likely to filibuster a Republican bill to fund the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. The vote, which is expected to come late this afternoon, will likely leave Senate Majority Leader with “messy options,” according to a report over the weekend by Politico.

A partial government shutdown seems almost assured at this point.

“But Obama’s party, convinced that voters will blame Republicans if DHS shuts down, is clearly relishing having the upper hand,” the Politico report says. “The president is traveling to Miami on Wednesday for an immigration-related event to be broadcast on MSNBC, essentially goading conservatives to keep pushing for a shutdown over the issue — a move that one Senate GOP insider likened to throwing a ‘can of gasoline’ on the fire.”